she/they Love and compassion are acts of resistance. Forever in recovery; learning to be a better human.
I read far more than I realized. I’m trying to find better words to describe the feelings manifested by the books I read, so my reviews may be more feeling oriented than objective.
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Ava Reid is a master of gothic horror, her prose takes root deep within you and doesn’t let go. I’ll read anything she writes and I trusted that even when I wanted to grief quit the book, that the payoff would be worth it.
I don’t care to reread this particular book, but it was an excellent read. Check the trigger warnings, they are no joke in this one.
The Cleric Chih accompanies a beautiful young bride to her wedding to an aging lord …
Already have it downloaded but I’ll probably wait and enjoy it this weekend when I can listen undisturbed.
It is 2020 and in a time more turbulent than any of us could have …
More going at one time than normal. I blame the library, and book clubs. Also it can be hard being a mood reader.
Poet Akbar (Calling a Wolf a Wolf) explores the allure of martyrdom in this electrifying …
One of those books that is so beautiful, even when it makes you hurt. It’s the tenderness of the rose petal and the piercing of thorn all at once. Added to my list of all time favorites.
FAR BENEATH the surface of the earth, upon the shores of the Starless Sea, there …
Not much to say, it was fantastic. Stories within stories, sometimes meta but not obnoxious about it. The prose is poetic and nebulous at times, so that can be a no go for some, but I love it. I got lost in it a bit, but most likely my own fault for forcing myself to keep going when my mind was buzzing.
Just 10% in and this is already looking to be an instant favorite.
FAR BENEATH the surface of the earth, upon the shores of the Starless Sea, there …
So happy I finally started this. Never had a book validated my love for narrative video games so much! I also finally understand why people enjoy Easter egg references in a book. When done well they are interesting bits of lore to the story for those who don’t know, and a deepening touch point for those who do. It’s also not just about nostalgia dopamine, but it actually serves to provide that depth without alienating others.
It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. "No maids, no …
I generally enjoyed this, but not as much as I hoped I would gives how much I love Nghi Vo. That’s not to say this was bad compared to their other works, just that the characters didn’t grab me nearly as much. I felt the true strengths here were the setting, an early 20th century Hollywood where the magical realism is so honed in, most of the time it almost feels like poetic analogies of reality. I think this time period is under represented in fiction, at least in my sampling, and I found it refreshing; especially with queer representation, we were always here, just beyond the sight of society.
The main character was well developed, I could sympathize with their motives, and their decisions followed their persona. I just don’t relate to people that are reckless while having it all, which of course is an oversimplification because at what …
I generally enjoyed this, but not as much as I hoped I would gives how much I love Nghi Vo. That’s not to say this was bad compared to their other works, just that the characters didn’t grab me nearly as much. I felt the true strengths here were the setting, an early 20th century Hollywood where the magical realism is so honed in, most of the time it almost feels like poetic analogies of reality. I think this time period is under represented in fiction, at least in my sampling, and I found it refreshing; especially with queer representation, we were always here, just beyond the sight of society.
The main character was well developed, I could sympathize with their motives, and their decisions followed their persona. I just don’t relate to people that are reckless while having it all, which of course is an oversimplification because at what cost does having it all come at? I think it revealed to me how much more I will prefer safety to recklessness (or rather expressing your true self in the face of oppression), so I learned more about myself, albeit in an uncomfortable way. The rest of the cast didn’t do it for me and were there to support the MCs narrative, which I believe was intentional, it was always about the MC.
I think the real draw here is the setting and how it’s in conversation with historical (and modern) social power structures and the cost not only existing as a marginalized person of society, but what success looks like and at what costs does it come?
Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans …
Not as powerful as Map of Salt and Stars, though still a touching and emotional book. I adored the tapestry of representation throughout.
At the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space carrying its famous golden record, …
Really great read, finished 95% of it on a travel day and finally did the last bit. I wish I had written down good quotes because there are so many, but alas, traveling and I didn’t have any of my normal stuff. All you need to know is alien sent to earth (and raised as a human) to observe humanity and report back. Took me longer than average to slip into the flow of the prose but was more than worth the effort.
Interesting slice of life memoir about doing nothing as a service. Plenty of great reflective points about worth, money, etc. but the one that stood out most was the idea that something changes when there is someone else around, even a stranger. Having looked really closely at the time I spend alone on days off before my partner gets up, there’s a stark difference even when no expectations for my time or attention exists. Similar feeling at work going from my own office to a “collaborative” setup (spoken: we are having space constraints and you drew the short straw). It’s also quite interesting to see this through the cultural lens of a society that has seemed to perfect toxic work culture and societal pressure on various expected roles, though that is more of a subtext and requires outside reading to flesh out.
There is plenty of privilege baked into this …
Interesting slice of life memoir about doing nothing as a service. Plenty of great reflective points about worth, money, etc. but the one that stood out most was the idea that something changes when there is someone else around, even a stranger. Having looked really closely at the time I spend alone on days off before my partner gets up, there’s a stark difference even when no expectations for my time or attention exists. Similar feeling at work going from my own office to a “collaborative” setup (spoken: we are having space constraints and you drew the short straw). It’s also quite interesting to see this through the cultural lens of a society that has seemed to perfect toxic work culture and societal pressure on various expected roles, though that is more of a subtext and requires outside reading to flesh out.
There is plenty of privilege baked into this though, imagine feeling safe enough to just meet strangers in private places based off of a twitter DM.
Frustrated by her current relationship, trans lesbian Maria Griffiths decides to change her life by …
"World War Z meets The Martian in the explosive follow-up to Sleeping Giants ("One of …
Honestly, take the last like 45minutes of this book and replace the ending of book 2 and you’d have a great duology. This book was a huge letdown.
I enjoyed reading this in tandem with Light From Uncommon Stars. This was more like looking into a kaleidoscope in the throw of a fever dream, but it was emotionally resonant and reflective in a way that felt like a stream of consciousness. Brutally familiar and equally alien in ways that, for me, reflect the experience of not feeling at home within a body. It’s a short book, but I had to take it in small chunks.
"World War Z meets The Martian in the explosive follow-up to Sleeping Giants ("One of …
Sad that there was a wait on this one at the library. After reading more emotionally resonant books in between the first two, this is going to be hard to get through. It’s not bad, but it’s harder to ignore what feels like network tv plotting.